Method of making rail cars



Mach 30, 1943. M GUNN METHOD OF MAKING RAIL CARS Filed Feb. 26', 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 30, 1943. F. M. GUNN METHOD OF MAKING RAIL CARS Filed Feb. 26, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 H \l ME QB] nl X Q RN ill RN &\ F k L L L L lllll i .w Q n N Q Qw \w Mm.

March 30, 1943. F.M.GUNN I 2,314,978

METHOD OF MAKING RAIL CARS Filed Feb. 26, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 F. M. GUNN METHOD OF MAKING RAIL CARS March 3 0, 1943.

Filed Feb. 26,-1941 6 Sheets -S heet 4 QM i Me 72602 WQHCASM G March 30, 1943. F. M. GUNN 2,314,978

METHOD OF MAKING RAIL CARS Filed Feb. 26, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR MM Gwvz ATTORNEYS.

Filed Feb. 26, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR:

HTTY'S.

Patented Mar. 30, 1943 METHOD ormxmc mu. cans Francis M. Gunm chicago, 111., assimor to Pullman-Standard Oar Manufacturing Company,

Chicago, 'Ill.,

a corporation of Delaware Application February 26, 1941, Serial No. 380,694 Claims. '(01. 29-164) This application isa continuation in part of the copending application of Francis M. Gunn, Ser. No. 307,143, filed December 1, 1939, and now Patent No. 2,291,621, granted Aug. 4, 1942.

Due to the extremely high speeds attained by passenger trains today, it is of considerable importance to reduce the wind resistance of the I train to a minimumlndentations, projections, and sharp comers extending outwardly: on the surface of thecar sides are very objectionable; and, as a result of considerable wind tunnel testing conducted in 1932mm 1933 and prior to that time on streamlined trains,it was definitely concluded that even the presence of rivet headson the side of a car ging effect air. I t

Because of the desirability of reducing all irproduces a substantial dragdue to the resistance of'turbulent regularities along the car sides and in an effort to produce a smooth contour along the sides of the car to satisfy the ever increasing public'demand formodernappearing equipment, the present inventionisparticularly valuable as it relates to the railway passenger car industry.

.Some years ago, riveting was used almost exclusively in the construction of steel passenger cars, but today theuse of welding is becoming more and more comm0n,and on modern equiping the sheathing to the framing members, it has to use a special Jig for each inbeen necessary dividual car design in order to locate the framing-members for the welder. Electric eyes and other equipment have been employed for this purpose, and this necessitated building a new iig each timea newly designed car was being constructed. The present'invention eliminates this objection and is a definite step toward simplification and reduction inconstruction costs. In prior methods of constructing car sides, the

' expansion and contraction occurring in the ment the presence of rivet headson the sides of the cars is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. Even though welding has been used for a numberof years, the car sides still are marred by ripples and buckles in the side sheathing and welding impressions left after the welding operation has been completed Many attempts have been made to hide these disfigurations by p'ainting and other means, but their presence still can be detected.

It is one of the principal objects of this invention, then, toeliminate the buckles and welding scars on the outer surface of the. car side, thereby greatly improving the outside appearance and making it possible to produce a greater streamlined effect.

In a girder type construction of the side frame of a car, the'sheathing plays animportant part in carrying the stresses. Because of this, it is extremely difficult toeliminate the ripples and buckles occurring in the side sheathing due to the presence of stresses. The presentinvention successfully eliminates these buckles and yet retains the car. a I

Heretofore, in performing the welding operation on the outside of the car side, when attachplain streamlined appearance of the sheathing during the welding operation have been resisted by the framing, resulting in the setting up of internal stresses in the side sheets, producing buckles. i Among the principal objects of the present invention are the following: Initially to remove all wrinkles and buckles in the side sheathing before I applying the sheathing to the side frame and to maintainthe sheet in a smooth, flat condition while the side frame and sheathing are being fastenedtogether; and to prevent the setting up of initial stresses in the sheathing which result in the formation of wrinkles and buckles therein, thus making ished car'side'which from these unsightly surface irregularities.

The above constitute. some of the principal objects and'advantages of the present invention, and other objects will become apparent from the drawings. and the following description, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation showing two small side sheet panels to be used in fabricating the side sheathing, with the window opening cut in the letter board panel;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the panel'shown in Fig. 1 showing the stiifener's applied to the inner face of each panel;

Fig. 3 is a' plan view of the panel shown in Figs. 1. and 2 welded together and a dotted line showing of a second adjoining panel unit welded to the first by a vertical seam;

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional'view through the side frame and vertical Jig showing the relationship of the various elements making up the side frame when mounted on the vertical Ji .7

Fig. 5 is a full assembly view oi the sheathing for the entire car side welded? into an integral sheet showing the stifl'eners on" the inner face. A

portion of the sheathing is broken away at the center; V i

- Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the car side framing members welded together toform the itpossible to produce a flnis smooth and entirely free by a horizontal seam I pleted car side viewed from the inside ofthe 'car;

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view taken through the completed car side showing the relative positions of the sheathing, framing members,

and stifieners;

Fig. 11 is a horizontal sectional view of a portion of the car side taken on the line i i-li of Fig. 12 is a fragmentary plan view of a small side sheet segment placed on the spot welding lie;

Fig. 13 is face and side sheet segment showing the side sheet with a stiffener in place and the positions of the electrodes prior to the application of electrode pressure;

Fig. 14 is an enlarged sectional viewcorrespending to Fig 13, but showingthe upper. electrode exerting force on the stiflener andsheet in position for welding. The bowing of the sheet downwardly is exaggerated to more clearly bring out'the process;

' Fig. 15 is'a fragmentary side elevational view of rugatedstiifeners i8 is placed on the inner face of the side sheet with the corrugations bridging the gap 53. Beneath the sheet and in the gap is an arm 54 extending forwardly from the back 55 of the welding machine, and this arm supports a bottom electrode 58.

Referring to Fig. 13, it is to be noted that this lower electrode 58 with upper electrode 51 directly above the lower electrode.

As shown in Fig. 14,. the upper electrode 51 is moved downwardly onto the inner surface of stiffener sheet l8, and then pressure is exerted, forcing the stiffener and side sheet downwardly 1 i a so an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken through the jig working sura jig showing the car side sheathing suspended from the top and also showing a longitudinal stretehing device forming part of the, jig for removing buckles in the sheathing;

Fig. 16 is a top plan view of the .113 shown in Fisnlmandl Fig. 17 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the clamp taken on the line l'i-i'i of Fig. 15.

. when constructing the car side, the sheathing and side frame are fabricatedseparately and are assembled when both have been cooled to atmospheric temperature and properly straightened.

, The sheathing is made up of a plurality of relatively small sheet panels 15 and i8 (Fig. 1).

reinforced and welded together to-form a unitary sheet extending the full length and height of the car side frame. Panel I! may be referred to as a segment of the letterboard'panel and sheet i8 as a segment of the usual girder sheet. Thefirst operation in constructing the side sheathing is to cut window openings 11 in the letter board panel, spacingrthem to conform to the particular design of the car under construction. 1

Each car side may be treatedseparately, and enough letter board panel sheets I! and girder sheets I will be prepared to complete the sheathing for one car side.

After the window openings havebeen cut out-of against the lower electrode to place the welding electrodes in position for performing the welding operation and bowing sheet i6 downwardly. to

place its outer surface in tension. With the parts in thls position, the "weldingcurrent is 25 turned on and a spot'weld-made'between the stiflener'and side sheet; andthen, upon raising electrode 51, the inherent resiliencyin the corrugated stifleners l8 aids in restoring the side sheet "to its normal flat position. I

If'during the welding operation the side sheet and stifleners were held 'flatfo n" completion of the operation the tendency would be for the stiffeners to be bowed with their faces engaging the side sheet being concave. This is caused by the greater heaton this contacting face of the stiffeners due to the concentration of welding heat between the side sheet and the stiffeners. Because of the greater stiffness of the stiffeners as compared with the side sheet, this warpage in the stiifeners causes buckling in the side sheet to place in the outer surface undesirable concavities. In order to overcome this objectionable bowing, the sheets and stifleners are initially bowed to place the outer surface ofthesheet in tension, as previously described, so that. upon practicable; and, in order to insure against the presence ofooncavities in the outer surface of the sheet, it may be desirable to be somewhat liberalin determining the initial bow. f

The reinforced small sheets are next placed with a letter board panel sheet it above and a girder sheet'segment it below, as shown in Fig.

the individual sheets, a plurality of stiifening units I! (Fig. 2) are welded to the inner face of segments SI. and 52, spaced apart to provide a gap 53. For the-purposeof illustration, a girder sheet [6 is shown on the working-area withlts.

inner face disposed upwardly, and a sheet of cor-:

3, on a welding jig and butt welded together, as

indicated at 23. This operation is performed by the use of arcwelding, and is continued until all like units of letter board Panel sheets and girder sheet segments i5 and i8, respectively, forone entire car side are completely welded together.

Theseunits are then placed on a large jig adapted to accommodate the sheathing for an entire car. side, and j complementary units are placed side byside and welded togetherby means of a vertical butt weld 24, also accomplished" by the use ofarcwelding. Thus the entire sheath ing for the car side integrally welded together erally indicated at at 26 in Fig. 6, is

- a bolt 40 with a nut ll,

. small side panels, it is possible into a single reinforced sheet extending th full length and height of the car side.

The sheet is then carried to a vertical jig, gen- 25 in Fig. 4. sheathing is being fabricated side frame, generally indicated being assembled on a framing jig. This frame comprises the usual side plate 21, window header 28, belt rail 29, and side sill 30, with a plurality of vertical side posts 3| suitably spaced throughout the length of the side frame. These various members are welded to gether, preferably by arc welding, as'indicated at 32, and additional horizontal and vertical braces (not shown) may be employed if needed. When the frame has been completely welded together and cooled, it is straightened on a straight- While the side as described, the

ening jig and put into shape for receiving the side sheathing.

Before the sheathing indicated at 33 4 and 5 is mounted on the jig 25 (Fig. 4), the welding bead, formed by welding together the small side sheets as previously described, is round flush with the sheets on the inside surface of the sheathing, and then it i placed in the vertical jig 25 with its outside face flush against a flat copper plate 34 forming part of the vertical jig. While the sheathing'is being held in place against this copper plate, thecar frame 26 is properly positioned against theinner face of the sheathing with the framing members fitting between the stiil'eners in the proper manner, and a plurality of'upper and lower clamps 35 and 35, respectively, are drawn tight to securely hold the sheathing and frame on the jig. These clamps may be of any suitable design or construction, but, for the purpose'of illustration, a U-shaped clamping member 38 is employed with one leg 31 resting against a backing plate 38 of the jig and the other leg 39 resting against some part of the side frame, as, for example, the side sill 30, as in the case of the lower clamp shown in Fig. 4. Some suitabie'means, such as V is used to tighten the clamp against the jig and the car frame.

The jig itself comprises a plurality of H beams 4|, anchored to the to which is rigidly secured a steel backing plate 38. The copper plate. previously described is bolted or otherwise affixed to the backing plate 38, and serves as a conductor for the welding current.

The side sheathing and frame are now mounted on the vertical jig and ready for the application of the welding electrodes for spot welding the side frame to the sidesheathing. Referring to Fig. 7, these spots are applied to, the vertical side posts, as indicated at 43, and are suitably spaced to attain the required strength and rigidity in the fastening. The spot welds are also applied to the horizontal framing members, and their spacing also is suitable for obtaining the required strength.

The finished product gives a smooth, plain appearance on the outside of the car, as shown in Fig. 8, with the car side entirely free from buckles or electrode impressions caused during thewelding operation. The fact that the'electrode pressure is applied from the inside on the car framing members in thespot welding operation and the outsidesurface is flush against the relatively smooth copper plate 34 (Fig. 4) makes it possible to entirely eliminate the welding scars on the V outer face of the side sheathing.

By welding the stiileners to the back of the ground, as indicated at 42.

, '3 r to obtain-a very flat reinforced sheet highly resistant to buckling before any expansion and contraction are allowed described, these stifl'eners resist any tendency to stifleners to the sheets, the welding electrode is applied to the stiffener itself to the cumulative contraction caused by the welding heat. This contraction may be as much as three-eighths to flve-eighths of an inch.

The large copper plate 84 in the welding jig serves as an electrical conductor behind the sheathing to conduct the welding current. The large surface of force prevents depressions from appearing in the outer face, thus preserving the smooth contour of the sheathing.

When building cars, on initial camber in the underframe, and, as the construction progresses and weight is loaded onto a pair oi inverted U-shaped clamps and 62 having a spacer 88 (Fig. 17) secured to legs 84 to electrode pressure which it is customary to place plates 38 and 34, respectively,

with the spacer 63 resting on the top of these plates. Extending across the topsof the inverted U-shaped clamps SI and 62 are a pair of plates 63 and 61 mounted in an upright position and spaced to'provide an opening therebetween to receive a hook ll (Fig. 17), which passes downwardly between plates 66 and 61, terminatingin the hooked portion 68'. The top of the hook i3 is threaded to receive a nut 89. and a Washer is placed between the nut and the plate members j" and 81 so that the hook is supported on the tops of these plates, and its height may be adjusted by turning the nut 89. Straps H are welded, as indicated at I! (Fig. or otherwise secured along the top of the side sheating '33, and hook 68 on each supporting member 60 hooks through an opening 13 in one of the straps H for supporting the sheathing. An adjustable screw 65' (Fig. 1'7) passes through leg 35 of each U-shaped clamp,

and serves to secure the clamp to the top of, the

Along the opposite vertical edges of the sheathing are a plurality of straps 14, welded or otherwise secured to the sheathing 33, and each strap is provided with a hole 15 adjacent to its outer end.. These straps ll are provided for the presence of window openings l1 and other cut-outs in the side sheathing, it is desirable to adjust the turn buckles so that the stretching is concentrated above and below these openings, so that in the zone of these openings the sheathing is stretched to a much-lesser degree. This is done to avoid localization of stresses in the the purpose of connecting a stretching device to the sheathing 54 so that the sheathing can be stretched in a general longitudinal direction.

Some means for supporting the stretching device must be provided. and, for the purpose of illustration, two suitable means are shown. Referring particularly to Fig. 16, at the left side thereof an anchor beam Ills mounted on the floor or in the ground, and the stretching device, generally indicated at 11, is fastened to this anchor beam by meansof an angle bar ll. This anchor beam 16 serves as a support for the stretching device. At the right side of the same figure, a second support is shown, which includes a bracket 1! made up of an irregularly shaped plate 33 extending to the rear flange ll of the I-beam ll forming part of the welding jig. A plate member 82 extends from the front flange" of the I-beam 4|, and is welded to the irregularly shaped member 80 to serve as a compression member in the bracket 1'3- The stretching mechanism, generally indicated at 34, is supported by the bracket 19.

After the side sheathing 33 is mounted-on the jig and the nuts 69 are properly adjusted so as to hang the sheathing 33 in the proper manner and with the least possible number of ripples therein, the stretching mechanism is attached to the opposite ends of the sheathing. At the left side of the jig shown in Fig. 15, this mechanism comprises the II-beam 16, a floating or equalizing beam 35, a pair of rods 38 hooked to the'beam II and secured at their opposite ends'to the angle member 13 by means of nuts 31 threaded onto the ends of rods 38, and a plurality of turn buckles 33 secured to the floating beam 85 and provided with hooks 83' adapt- ,ed to grasp one of the straps 14 through its opening 15. Reinforcing angles 89 and 83 (Fig.

16) are provided on the opposite sides of the floating beam 85 to stiffen the beam.

On the right-hand side of the jig shown in Fig. 15, a stretching device includes the bracket regions of the windows. The adjustment is made by initially setting the numerous turn buckles 88 and SI on the. two ends'of the sheathing to properly distribute the stretching forces. After the stretching mechanism is adjusted to the desired degree, theremainder of the stretch- I ing is accomplished by tightening nuts 31 on the ends of rods86, so that a pullingforce is placed on the floating beam 85,'whlch, in turn, applies a pullingforce on each of the turn buckles 88, thereby stretching the side sheathing the desired amount. l

It is to be noted that the turn buckles 33 and SI are pitched from a true horizontal position. so that those above the longitudinal center line of the sheathing are inclined upwardly. whereas those below are inclined downwardly In this manner, vertical components are present in each of the stretching forces applied to the sheathing 33, thereby making .it possible to remove any horizontal ripples which otherwise may result if the stretching forces were applied in a true horizontal direction. This inclination of the turn buckles serves further to avoid localization oi stresses around the' window openings.

When the stretching of the side sheathing is employed as one step in the fabrication of the car side, this stretching operation is performed after the side sheathing is made into an integral member and before the side framing members are welded to the sheathing. The welding operation employed in connecting together the sheathing and the framing mm- 19 attached to the I-beam I and the turn buckles 9| hooked to the outer ends of straps l4 and carried by the brackets I3. A nut 32 is threaded onto the free end of each turn buckle hers is performed during the time the sheathing is being stretched, so that these framing members tend to maintain this stretched condition in the sheathing after the welding operation has been completed.

It has been found that the method of construction described herein greatly improves the outer appearance of'car sides. It is possible to remove buckles and ripples to the extent that they are not visible to the naked eye. Thus, a problem which has confronted car builders for years has finally been solved.

A specific embodiment of the present invention has been selected for the purpose of disclosure as required by section 4888 of the Revised Statutes;

but, obviously, many changes and modifications maybe made, some of which have been suggested, without departing from the spirit of the invention. No attempt has been made to accurately show the location of the spot welding throughout the car side. The spacings between the spots will vary according to'individual requirements.

I claim:

L'The method of fabricating a vehicle wall having a frame covered by sheathing, the frame engaging substantially the entire perimeter of the sheathing, comprising forming a plurality of flat, metal sheets, then making integral with each sheet stiffener-s reinforcing the major area thereof for resisting deformation of the sheets arising from the subsequent welding ope ations. lean ing portions of the sheets free of stiffeners to accommodate framing members. then welding tn get her the adjacent edges of the stiffened sheets while maintaining said sheets in substantially the same plane and making the welds substantially continuous throughout the lengths of the edges to form the sheathing for the wall, then removing ripples by tensioning the sheathing from the opposite ends thereof substantially uniformly throughout the extent of the sheathing and while so tensioning the sheathing welding thereto throughout substantially the entire per irneter of the sheathing the frame applied with the framing members against the said stiffenerfree areas of the sheathing.

2. The method of fabricating a vehicle wall having a frame covered by sheathing, the frame engaging substantially the entire perimeter of the sheathing, comprising forming a plurality of fiat metal sheets, then making integral with each sheetstifieners reinforcing the major area thereof for resisting deformation of the sheets arising from the subsequent welding operations, leaving portions of the sheets free of stitfeners to accommodate framing members, then welding together the adjacent edges of the stllfened sheets while maintaining said sheets in substantially the same plane and making the welds substantially con-. tinuous throughout the lengths of the edges to form the sheathing for the wall, then removing ripples from the sheathing and while holding the sheathing in a substantially smooth, ripple-free condition welding thereto throughout substantially the entire perimeter of the sheathing thc frame appliedwith the framing members against the said stiffener-free areas of the sheathing.

3. The method of fabricating a railway car side wall having a frame made up of framing members including a side posts, all interconnected by intermediate framing sill, a sideplate, a pair of end members, said frame being covered by sheathing consisting of a plurality of letter board and girder sheet panels and engaging substantially the entire perimeter of the sheathing made up of a plurality of letter board and girder sheet panels, comprising making integral with each of said panels stiffeners reinforcing the major area thereoffor resisting deformation of the sheets arising from the subsequent welding operations, leaving marginal and intermediate portions of the sheets free of stifleners to accommodate the said framing members, then welding together the adjacent edges of corresponding stiffened letter board and girder sheet panels while maintaining said panels in substantially the same plane thereby forming a plurality of fiat, stiiTened sheets. and then welding together the adjacent edges of the said fiat, stillened sheetslma'king the welds substantially continuous throughout the lengths of the edges to form the sheathing for the wall, then removing ripples from the sheathing and while holding the sheathing in a substantially smooth, ripple-free throughout s'ubstan- H condition welding thereto tially the-entire perimeter of the sheathingthe frame applied with the framing members against the said stiifener-free areas of the sheathing.

4. The method of fabricating avehicle wall having a frame covered by sheathing, the frame engaging substantially the entire perimeter. ofthe sheathing, comprising forming a plurality of vfiat,

reinforced, metal sheets by placing against the inner face of each of a plurality of flat, metal sheets stiiieners adapted to reinforce the major area of the sheet against deformation arising from the subsequent ingportions of the sheets free of stiffeners to ac commodate framing members, then uniformly bowing both the stiifeners andthe sheet within their elastic limits so that the outer face of the sheet is in tension, and while so maintaining them, welding them together by applying welds over a substantial portion of the area of the stiffeners, then allowing the sheet and the stiffeners to return to their original flat condition, then welding,

together'the adjacent edges of the stifiened sheets while maintaining said sheets in substantially the same plane and making the welds substantially continuous throughout form the sheathing for the wall. then removing ripples from the sheathing and whileholding the sheathing in asubstantially smooth, ripple-free conditiontwelding thereto throughout substantially the entire perimeter of the sheathing they I the adjacent edges of the stiffened sheets whilev maintaining said sheets in substantially the same plane and making the welds substantially continuous throughout the lengthsof the edges to form the sheathing for thewall, then removing ripples by tensioning the sheathing from the opposite ends thereof substantially uniformly throughout the extent of the sheathing by applying tension forces havingcomponents thereof di-' rected longitudinally and in a direction corre-' sponding to the height of the sheathing and while so tensioning the sheathing welding thereto throughout I the sheathing the frame applied with the framing members against the said stifiener-free areas of the sheathing,

FRANCIS M. GUNN.,

welding operationsbut leavthe lengths of the edgesto i forming a plurality offiat,

substantially the entire perimeter of' 

